Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal of Huntsville man sentenced to life for robberies, kidnappings

MONTGOMERY -- The Alabama Supreme Court today refused to hear the appeal of a Huntsville man sentenced to two life sentences for multiple robbery and kidnapping charges and a sodomy charge.

Justice Thomas Woodall did not issue a written opinion in the case of Jacques Laviord Pyant, 27, a former star football player at Alabama A&M University.

Pyant was sentenced in 2010 for seven robbery charges, five kidnapping charges and a sodomy charge, which the state Department of Corrections says equates to life without parole.

Pyant was convicted in a series of holdups in west Huntsville from October to December 2008, including one in which he forced the victim to perform oral sex on him. The seven victims gave similar descriptions of the attacks.

Each of the kidnapping victims testified that a large black man wearing a ski mask confronted them in or near their apartments and forced them to get into their cars. He then sat behind the driver's seat and ordered them to drive to ATMs to withdraw cash.

The kidnapping charges each carried a maximum 20-year sentence, the robberies 20 to 99 years or life, and the sodomy charge 20 to 99 years or life.

According to Department of Corrections' records, Pyant is being held at the maximum security Holman Prison in Atmore.